allworkpeace

Yes, I'm old enough to have watched the original "Dragnet" series, starring the late Jack Webb, with great interest and understanding. That's why I only needed to watch a couple of episodes of "Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda" to become a dedicated fan. Much like the deadpan Friday of "Just the facts, ma'am," real-life Colorado Springs, CO, detective Kenda approaches the worst murder cases with a keen eye for detail and a steadfast dedication to speak for the victim.

Since "Homicide Hunter" is produced for Investigation Discovery, one of the Discovery cable networks, Kenda has the freedom to share most of the gruesome clues with which modern mystery afficionados are passionately familiar. Even better, Kenda reveals great insight into the twisted psyches of the most vicious killers as he leads them into interrogation traps that force them to confess to their crimes.

I confess, I hope to continue watching "Homicide Hunter" for years to come. Since he's solved over 400 murders since the 1980s, Lt. Joe Kenda has a lot of 'war stories' to share with dedicated--and addicted!--fans like me.

I've seen "A Price Above Rubies" completely through twice now and parts of it more than that. Each time I watch it, I recognize symbolisms that I hadn't quite noticed before. With each viewing, I begin to understand messages and meanings that weren't clear to me earlier. Only now do I see enough that is special about the film that I feel ready to share.

Other reviewers discussed the main plot and primary characters: Sonia (Renee Zellweger), burning with desires that few can understand, especially at her young age; her husband, Mendel (Glenn Fitzgerald), whose religiosity is so overwhelming he can't deal with his wife's needs; Mendel's overbearing brother, Sender (Christopher Eccleston), and sister, Rachel (Julianna Margulies); and Ramon (Allen Payne), the sensual artist whose talents and sexuality offer Sonia the way out of her nightmarish bonds to religious tradition.

Watching "Price" again this morning, I finally realized the deeper importance of three characters that received minor mention by only one other reviewer: Sonia's long-dead brother, Yossi (Shelton Dane); the nameless and mysterious "beggar" woman (Kathleen Chalfant); and the unusually honest and grateful Rebbitzn (Kim Hunter). The purpose of these vital characters is to contrast Sonia's earthy spirituality with Mendel's ritualistic piety.

Unlike so many films, the script is so tightly written that as I watched it from beginning to end for the second time on IFC, I failed to detect a single scene or shot that could be cut. And while the ending wasn't the kind of sappy-happy Hollywood finale that some might desire, it was realistic and tied up important details of the opening scene very neatly.